Y-AGE TAKES A TEN STEP APPROACH TOWARDS CREATING 1 MILLION NEW JOBS FOR GAUTENG
Posted by Nyeleti on Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Under: Entrepreneurship
The challenge of successfully tackling unemployment in Gauteng,
particularly amongst young people, is one that requires innovative
thinking and bold solutions if the Province is going to realise its
future goals and ambitions, both at home and on the world business
stage. With this in mind, the Gauteng Government has set a specific
goal - to find, nurture and empower 100 000 new, young entrepreneurs by
the end of 2012, each one contributing to the creation of 1 million new
jobs. How it practically achieves this goal is the mission of a truly
innovative new development programme - Y-AGE (the Youth and Graduate
Entrepreneurship Development Programme).
Y-AGE is different from other development programmes. It is a
Public-Private Sector Partnership initiative that looks to harness the
expertise and experience of established entrepreneurs to mentor these
new business leaders of tomorrow. It incorporates a global best
practice approach to its business model that focuses on research,
recruitment, selection, training, funding, monitoring and evaluation,
and finally mentorship and support, to ensure programme success for the
long-term.
The uniqueness of the Y-AGE programme comes from its tried and tested 10 Step Approach to taking aspirant young people on the journey towards entrepreneurship. Firstly, Step 1
looks to promote the Y-AGE programme to potential young entrepreneurs
through various advertising and promotional campaigns across the
Province, with the aim to identify 100 000 eligible candidates. Those
interested in the Y-AGE Programme are requested to visit the website www.y-age.co.za to find out more about the Programme and the criteria and then to register on-line or via the mobisite by sending an sms to 34747.
The reason for this digital approach is that young entrepreneurs need
to be tech-savvy in today's fast-moving business environment and
therefore all programme applications are requested to be completed via
the website. In addition, help desks will also be set up at a number of
local municipality centres.
Step 2 is the selection process to identify the final 100
000 young entrepreneurs that will formally be invited onto the Y-AGE
programme. A panel of highly qualified and experienced industry sector
experts will assess each individual application to ensure that those
selected onto the Programme have viable business venture propositions
and fully meet the criteria for entry, which falls into four key
categories, namely:
- People with a viable business concept but with no existing business
- People with an existing business but with no funding
- People with a new invention but without the funding required to launch it to market
- People with a business that has collapsed, due to lack of funding or other business challenges, and needs to be resuscitated
50% of those ultimately selected will be women and youth business
owners in the 18-35 year age group. An exception will be made for
graduates up to 40 years.
Step 3 sees successful candidates being informed of their
formal acceptance onto the Y-AGE programme by means of an sms or email.
This notification of acceptance requires applicants to demonstrate
their complete commitment to their business venture and the initiative
by paying a commitment fee of R500. The payment of this fee encourages
candidates to complete the Y-AGE programme and all its pre-requisites.
Monies are invested back into the programme to cover operational costs.
Step 4 is the formal registration process, during which time
the young entrepreneur will receive a learner contract, a compulsory
Y-AGE bank account complete with Y-AGE bank card that can be loaded with
stipends from the various SETAs and to be used throughout the Y-AGE
partner network, and a detailed information pack on the training and
development schedules to be followed.
Step 5 sees the commencement of the young entrepreneur's
training and development process with the provision of learner
materials, schedules of training and development classes, a copy of the
programme values to be followed, and a list of specialist workshops,
guest lectures and seminars to be attended. The young entrepreneurs
will be separated into two groups - those with no previous business
experience commence their formal training with the New Venture Creation programme, whereas those who already have some business experience and existing businesses move into the Turn Around Solutions programme. This second young entrepreneurs group is not required to study full-time.
Step 6 requires each of the young entrepreneurs to complete
their business plans in preparation for the commencement of the funding
application process. Each business plan will then be introduced to the
various financial institution partners of the Y-AGE programme for
support.
Step 7 relates to the confirmation of funding lines for each
of the new entrepreneurial business ventures. Funding takes the form
of a 20% grant, sourced from the Development Funding Institutions,
Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) and Department of Economic
Development (DED). The remainder of the funding takes the form of a
loan from a Financial Lending Institution.
Step 8 is the exciting part of the Y-AGE programme when the
young entrepreneur sees their business venture kick started in earnest.
At this stage, the business can start to hire people and create the
much-needed new jobs in their industry or business sector.
Step 9 provides the new business with the essential monitoring and evaluation process that is required to ensure long-term success.
Finally, step 10 is what makes the Y-AGE programme truly
unique - the mentorship and support structure that is provided to each
young entrepreneur. The mentorship will be coordinated through the
Mentorship Program and the Customer Relations Management (CRM) support
services facilitated by the Y-AGE call centre.
To ensure the ultimate success of this innovative programme, and as
a reflection of the importance of this initiative on the part of
Gauteng Provincial Government, a highly qualified team has been put in
place to oversee its implementation and day-to-day management. In
addition, a network of key strategic partners has also been established
including the SETAs, Commercial Banks, FET Colleges, Universities and
Private Businesses, offering advice and access to funding and technical
support. By working together in strategic partnership, this powerful
initiative has the capacity to realise the change that everyone in
Gauteng wishes to see in order to achieve the Province's goal of a truly
entrepreneurial culture in action, supporting 1 million new jobs.
Any young entrepreneur wishing to know more about this exciting initiative should visit the Y-AGE website for details - www.y-age.co.za
In : Entrepreneurship
Tags: start-up mentorship sme